Eighty-one years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hand down the experiences of hibakusha within families.

According to a survey conducted by the city of Hiroshima’s board of education in fiscal 2025, fewer than 20% of students in elementary, junior high and high school said they had the chance to listen to their grandparents’ stories about the atomic bombing and World War II — half the figure seen in the previous survey 10 years earlier.

The survey has been conducted every five years since fiscal 1995 to grasp the awareness of peace among children. As the survey was canceled in fiscal 2020, the latest one, conducted on 3,630 students, was the first in a decade.